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‘Jahan Pahlevan’, Portrayal of a Hero by 114 Artists

Works by 114 visual artists will be displayed at Shirin Art Gallery from January 2-14, as part of an art exhibition titled ‘Jahan Pahlevan’ (The World Champion), a title fondly given to the famous Iranian athlete Gholamreza Takhti by his fans because of his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship.
Regarding the choice of theme for his exhibition, curator Arash Tanhai says he came up with the idea following months of study and research to bring back Iranian celebrities and eminent personalities into the social circle. He picked Takhti since “he is not just a sport champion, but also a national hero.”
“For this exhibition, visual artists including painters, photographers, sculptors, and graphic artists were invited to portray Jahan Pahlevan Takhti from their own perspectives. Artists from all genres and age groups were invited to participate in the exhibition to further emphasize that Takhti belongs to everybody. In terms of the number of participating artists, the exhibition is one of the biggest private exhibitions ever held in Iran,” Honaronline quoted him as saying.

Book Unveiling
Some of the artists whose works will be displayed include: Ali-Akbar Sadeghi, Bahman Boroujeni, Fereydoun Ave, Nosratollah Moslemian, Behzad Shishegaran, Ghasem Hajizadeh, Masoud Sa’dedin, Rozita Sharafjahan, Qudratullah Agheli, Masoumeh Mozafarri, Behnam Kamrani, Reza Bangiz, Malek-Dadyar Garousian, Kambiz Sabri and Iraj Mohammadi.
Alongside the exhibition, a newly published book comprising articles on Takhti, his never-before-seen photographs and poems, memoires and notes written by his friends will also be unveiled.
Gholamreza Takhti (1930 - 1968) was an Iranian Olympic Gold-Medalist Wrestler and Varzesh-e-Bastani (ancient heroic sport) practitioner. He was the most popular athlete of Iran in the 20th century and is still a hero to many Iranians. He is listed in the FILA wrestling Hall of Fame.